KING OF BEERS

02.27.13

Budweiser Sued for Watering Down Beer

Joe Raedle/Getty

What would the Budweiser frog say? U.S. consumers filed a lawsuit on Tuesday in federal court against AB InBev for allegedly watering down Budweiser. The company, which makes not only Budweiser but also Stella Artois, controls 39 percent of the U.S. beer market and is currently looking to expand with a bid to buy Modelo, a Mexican brewing company that currently controls 7 percent of the American market. The complaint alleges AB InBev mislabels the amount of alcohol in Bud Ice, Bud Light Platinum, Michelob, King Cobra, Busch Ice, Black Crowne, Bud Light Lime, Hurricane High Gravity Lager, Natural Ice, and Michelob Ultra. An AB InBev spokesman called the complaints “completely false” and insisted “our beers are in full compliance with all alcohol labeling laws.”